


Crash and Burn

by nefarious_irusu



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Comfort, Crash & Burn, Crying, Depression, Emotional, Emotional Hurt, Emotions, Exhaustion, Gen, Hugs, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Men Crying, Mental Breakdown, One Shot, Overworking, Platonic Cuddling, Random & Short, References to Depression, Short, Short & Sweet, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-09 17:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19480810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nefarious_irusu/pseuds/nefarious_irusu
Summary: Work harder, work faster, work better. He was trying, but being strong for so long left him breakable.





	Crash and Burn

His eyes were always darting around, as if trying to make sense of the world. He very well might have been, in a place so different from the one he called home. Japan was the opposite of Russia- Yuri had seen it for himself when he chased Viktor there. He hoped, as an afterthought, that he hadn't been as obvious in making sense of it as Yuuri had.

They settled into a familiar banter just as easily as they had fallen out of it- Yuri was back to calling him "Katsudon", and Yuuri had taken to enunciating the end of "Yuri-o" in return. But it was comfortable, familiar.

"You fumbled that landing, try it again!"

Sweat was already dripping from Yuri's face, faster than he could remember to wipe it away. Lack of sleep the night before left his limbs heavy and his head loud, and Yuri wanted nothing more than to trudge home and crawl into bed. But he pressed on, launching himself into the jump again under Yakov's watchful eye.

 _Smack_. The ice felt like a belly flop into a cold pool under Yuri's weight. He stayed on his hands and knees for a moment, watching droplets of sweat drip from his forehead onto the ice below him. They froze almost instantly.

"Hey, are you alright, Yurio?"

Yuuri skipped his usual enunciation. Yuri pulled himself up with shaking arms to find Yuuri offering out his hand. He took it much harder than necessary, pulling himself the rest of the way up. "I'm fine," he grumbled, terminating the touch.

"It's okay to need a break, you know." Was his soft reply before it was chased away by the sound of his skates scraping. Yuri watched as Yuuri circled around into the far corner, going back to practicing his step sequence.

It wasn't okay. Not for Yuri. He launched himself back into his own routine, desperately trying to chase away his own doubts. _Work harder, work faster, work better_. He was trying, but being strong for so long left him breakable. He crashed onto the ice again, and this time, he didn't get back up.

The afternoon was fuzzy, but Yuri distinctly remembered the smell of Yuuri's cologne filling his nose and feeling warmer than he had in days. When he came back down to earth, he was blinking up at Viktor's ceiling, Yuuri's weighted blanket draped over him on the couch.

"Hey," Yuuri whispered.

Yuri turned his head to find him propped up in a nearby armchair, his knees drawn up to his chest.

"Can I get you anything?"

Yuri shook his head, sitting up and throwing the blanket off of him in one fluid motion. "I'm going home," he mumbled.

He was stopped in a catlike hold as Yuuri moved across the room in a blink. "Wait. Please," he whispered. His hand trembled where it wrapped around Yuri's wrist. "Please," he repeated, softer.

"Why?" Yuri mumbled, too exhausted to come up with anything better to ask.

Yuuri softened, his thumb pressing gently into Yuri's skin where his wrist met his forearm. He rubbed a small circle there, a small touch which Yuri would never admit provided him with an overwhelming sense of comfort.

"I want you to stay." Yuuri spoke evenly, using his free hand to brush back Yuri's hair. "I want you to rest, okay?"

Yuri was unable to pull away, a magnet inside of him swelling and causing him to cant into Yuuri's soft touch. His face warmed as he realized his own vulnerability, but the magnet inside of him was now stronger than he.

"I can rest at home," he managed to croak.

Yuuri enveloped him fully, then, sliding his arms around Yuri's waist. One hand rubbed his back while the other cradled the back of his head, gently resting it on his chest. There was the smell of his cologne again, sharp and musky in his nose.

"It's alright," he soothed. "I've got you."

Yuri sagged against him, his hands the only parts of his body that still seemed to work. They clung to the sides of Yuuri's shirt fiercely, scrambling for purchase of anything that might ground him. 

"I've got you," Yuuri repeated, and Yuri shattered.

The sob that reverberated against Yuuri's chest and back into his own face scared him for a moment, sounding so unlike himself. He gasped, clinging to Yuuri even harder, as they were both lowered slowly to the carpeted floor.

"It's okay," Yuuri whispered, pulling him impossibly closer. "You can let go, now, Yuri."

And he did. With his knees aching through his leggings from the stiff carpet, he let go. With his rival's arms keeping him together. He let go. With soft words that could have been Russian, English, or Japanese, for all he knew- he let go.

He sobbed until his head throbbed from the tears, and the front of Yuuri's shirt clung wetly to his face. He sobbed until his lungs grew sore, and his nose was stopped up completely. He sobbed until his tears ran dry, and then heaved in dry sobs for minutes after. He sobbed until he sank down into himself, still in Yuuri's strong hold.

They sat in silence after Yuri calmed down, and Yuuri stroked his hair in rhythmic motions. He hummed softly, rocking them in time to his own tune. Yuri weakly held on to the front of Yuuri's shirt, his cheek pressed against the damp fabric.

"Do you feel any better now?" Yuuri finally whispered.

Exhaustion won over Yuri's embarrassment, and he nodded.

"Do you want to come lie down in our bed?"

He nodded again.

In soft sheets, a poodle joined the two men who shared a name. The dog lay on one side of Yuri, and Yuuri on the other. Having his hair stroked while stroking the dog himself, Yuri drifted back into a well-deserved sleep.


End file.
